


down to earth

by chuunihans (stormilys)



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Karmanami Week 2016
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-02-28 04:02:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13263258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stormilys/pseuds/chuunihans
Summary: With or without gravity, I'd still fall for you. / originally posted on ff, for karmanami week!





	1. common ground between love and blood

**Author's Note:**

> yep. it's late, but I'm finally posting this here too! this was from karmanami week 2016, i'm just reposting it here. though, i wish we had another karmanami week... -sighs-

**_Karmanami Week, Day 1: Red_ **

* * *

"If it isn't the color of blood, then what is it?" Karma argues this with her during spring break in the cool comfort of Nagisa's summer home in the province. Class 3-E had gathered for a reunion, and he had whisked her away to one of the cooler areas he had found to nap.

His breath is warm against her stomach with his head on her lap, one arm curled around her. Manami had lulled him to a drowsy stupor, running her fingers through locks that were, at that moment, unidentifiable in color. "Your hair is simply red, Karma-kun."

"That's not right," he drawls, lazily and halfheartedly trying to fight. Manami giggles and catches his flailing hand as it passes by her face, picking up a scent of something sugary and sweet. "Where is Manami's sense of aesthetic? I told you  _your_  hair was the color of wisterias… plus you smell like flowers all the time."

"But they're poisonous ones."

Karma only shuffles closer, presses his nose against the cloth that covered her stomach where the fluttering has been nonstop. His hand brushes and pokes her cheek, the sweet scent strongest on his fingers, before his arm curls around her again. "That's why I like it."

"I know what color it is now." He hums in acknowledgment, just enough to make her breathe and taste sugar on her lips. "It's candy apple."

* * *

Manic—his eyes wild and dangerous, the knife sings as it swipes where Nagisa's throat used to be, and when Karma realizes that his opponent had dodged, the snarl he lets out makes it enough for her fear to crawl back in. He is way past listening—he can't hear them he can't hear her  _oh Karma-kun **please**_ —and he can't see past red.

In the folds of her pocket and her stomach churning, her hand is clenched around the chemical as Manami realized that this is not the harmless trickster class 3-E lived in fear from for his pranks, but the wrathful devil class 1-A had betrayed.

She could only hope as she threw the bottle, that he would forgive her too.

* * *

Manami tries to sway him for the umpteenth time. "But we have school tomorrow, and…  _this_  is prohibited. You might get in trouble!"

"Never stopped me before~"

When she's done, Karma casually holds up all fingers and spreads them in the air, inspecting his painted nails with gleeful interest. They're a glossy red, the kind of red Bitch-sensei would flaunt. Thankfully he hadn't had any on his toes.

Manami laughs. "You look weird."

"Correction: I look  _fabulous_." He made a show of tossing his hair back, and Manami laughs louder. "I set the bar for standards of beauty, don't you know?"

Beauty or whatever else, Karma had always been setting standards whether he knew it or not.

"In fact, when this dries, I'll put some on your toes." He smirks.

"But—"

 _But_ he is persistent, his argument flawless, so Manami ends up saying  _yes_ to this:"You won't get in trouble when they can't see what they're not supposed to see, yes?"

* * *

Karma kisses her with deliberate slowness, with all the time in the world, and every inch of his warm lips pressed against hers. He smelled of sunshine and tasted of strawberry trouble when his tongue pushed inside her mouth. That was slow, too. Manami forgets the reason why he does this, the same way how all she knows is that kissing Karma was nice.

It's only when something fell to the ground from her hands—when had she placed them around his neck?—that Manami willed herself to pull away. She does not miss how he chased after her, the small sigh of concession against her mouth when she leans teasingly away and the small smirk that curves his smeared lips.  _Smeared?_

"Manami is already dangerous with her poison," he traces her lips with his fingers without touching, to the skin where lipstick has stained. Manami realized she dropped the tube—her 17th birthday gift from Hinano, who had been wearing a sly smile at the time. For a moment she wondered (and felt guilt) if the tube had cracked.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," his painted lips drag down to her chin, jaw, until she's pressed up between him and his hands and his lips are branding love onto her neck. "That Manami will be the death of me if she wears red lipstick."

They're a mess of lipstick stains and his wandering hands are distracting and she wonders if telling would be a good idea. "Um, it's-it's called K-Karma…"

He leans away, inspecting his handiwork, and smiles dangerously.

"Oh?"

Manami swallows, nods, sees him eye her with a lazy sort of heat that made something rise within her, starting from her toes, to her fingers, up to her cheeks. She's flushed shy the color of his hair. That seemed to please him, too.

"You should put  _Karma_  on your lips more often."

* * *

He is distraught, even horrified, when she's bleeding from every exposed skin and the general populace was running around in panic. No one had expected an unstable science kid to raise hell during the science fair after losing to Manami, and when it had been her turn to shake her hand, she all but stabbed a scalpel into Manami's palm and proceeded to wreak havoc.

"Karma-kun…" she tries to soothe, as he furiously demanded if there were doctors and god _damn it someone call a fucking ambulance_  amidst the chaos of authorities and people colliding, and he only listens when her hands cup his face.

"I said don't move your hand," Karma hissed, avoiding seeing the jagged lines of stab wounds as he gently lowers her hands. His hands are shaking. His eyes are wild and dark with almost frightened worry, with his cheek bloody from her injured hand. Her coat was bloody and torn too, she noticed with sadness. His eyes glared, and he growled, "That  _bitch_."

Manami shook her head. "Karma-kun—"

"I will skin her alive, watch me do it, if I find her—"

So she sighed, and, trying to avoid wincing (it just made him angrier), she adjusted herself so she could embrace his neck, nuzzling his clenched jaw as he continued to hiss threats and intents to harm, until he's silent and aghast, cradling her protectively.

"Are you done?"

"Not until I kill her."

"Shush. And that's  _murder_."

"It is. You can help, too." He grins malevolently. "I always did wonder if hydrofluoric acid could actually melt a corpse."

* * *

Karma did not like tomatoes. He'd pick them out and push them towards her, stealing her egg rolls optional, more often a kiss. He lets her take his strawberry milk and the cherries he always bought (and he would never admit it, but he bought them for her; Manami does not know this). So Manami eats his tomatoes and always wondered why he slips his tongue inside her mouth when he knows she just ate the tomatoes he said he hated.

* * *

Manami liked keeping her options open for other opportunities, and Karma thinks of the same thing.

Except, he also liked to  _anchor_  a specific opportunity he may not be able to take now, but still wanted nonetheless, by tying it down to promises (and favors, for all his idiosyncrasies and mischief). So one day, Manami watches as he digs through the depths of his pocket and he holds her hand in his.

"I hope Karma-kun isn't trying to propose again right  _now,_ while he's still sober."

"Shut up." Manami grins, all too amused as he pouts petulantly at her. "I thought we established the fact that I was drunk and saying dumb things— _damn_  where is that thing?"

She nods wisely. "So you're not proposing."

"Not unless it's a definite yes." His eyes brighten. "Aha!"

He takes out a long, thin red string, miraculously free of tangles. Manami does not know what this means, but she has a feeling this is related to her future,  _their_  future because with Karma, he always finds a way to make sure  _everything_  happens. So she says nothing and Karma proceeds to tie the ends of the string to their little fingers. The length of it dangles in-between; for some reason Manami couldn't take her eyes away from it, and the glimmer of fond affection in the way he looks at her.

"What's this for?"

"Manami is not a romantic girl after all. It's kind of sad," he fakes a sob. Then he grins as he spins her by the hand, guiding her away outwards until there's enough distance between them. "I tied you down to me with the red string of fate, so wherever we are, we'll always be connected."

Manami frowns.

"Why?"

"Do I need a reason why?"

She fingers the string. Tugs. "String is weak. It might tangle… and break apart." She also tries very hard not to think in metaphors when the words leave her mouth, and her frown only deepens when he does nothing but chuckle. She's taken aback when he starts to tug on the string, tugging on her hand, so she reluctantly walks back until he could link their fingers wrapped with the red string.

"This is why I like you." He says, and her throat runs dry. "This is why I tied us here right now. This is why Manami is my favorite person, this is why I want to be by your side. Maybe we won't stay like this forever like we do right now, and also maybe not after graduation, but in the future where we've both grown and proud of what we've built to share with each other, I want  _this,_ that's why I'm saying early as now that what's mine will be yours…in ten years."

And then Karma smiles a brilliant smile.

"All I ask for now is if we could wait until then."


	2. to kill a fairy tale king

**_Karmanami Week, Day 2: Fairy Tale_ **

* * *

It's strange.

"You're not supposed to be here," the witch says. She eyed the figure lounging on the boughs of the great tree she resided in, casually tossing an apple up and down. "…Are you lost again?"

Somewhere, a horse neighed. There was a bulk underneath his cloak, long and singing of steel. A sword. The apple in his hand is as red as his hair.

"Milady, had I been lost, I wouldn't be here specifically~"

The knight jumped down, and he straightened up as he made his way towards her. He towered over her a good nine inches, and his sharp (though friendly) grin was disconcerting. The witch craned her neck to look up; why did she have to be so tiny?

"Hello again, aren't you glad to see me again?" he snickered.

She frowned. "I-I don't understand, I guided you back into the kingdom…" She remembered that day well, too. He had tree leaves stuck on his hair and the tree branches had battered his tunic and cloak; he was lost, and she'd chanced upon him on her way back from the caves. What was a kingdom official doing in the forest anyway, where no one dared venture into?

_"We were on a hunt," he'd said. "And I followed the wolf into the woods. I guess in my time here, right now, as you lead me back, I think I found another~"_

_"I am a witch, sir. Not a wolf."_

_His smirk was amused and flirtatious. "Maybe I meant me."_

The witch did not know if he was being flamboyant or…  _stupid_ , but he should have changed into another set of clothes if he was going inside the woods in the first place. His red locks were a clear sign for attracting trouble, and many of the forest's inhabitants weren't as anodyne as her.

"But I came back."

"Yes. Why?"

"I need help," this is where he starts to pull something out of his cloak, and the witch, fearing weapons or anything that may harm her, was quick to react. She didn't want to do it, but for the sake of preservation she drew out a small flask and splashed its contents on the startled knight. He was frozen on the spot, blinking furiously, and when the shock faded, he started trying to move. "Hey! What's this? I can't move!"

"I apologize!" She gasped, bowing repeatedly. "But-but it's for my protection!"

To her surprise, he  _laughed_. "I wasn't going to harm you, milady! I was going to give you something in exchange for my favor!"

"I don't quite trust you…"

"That stings," he sniffed. "I trusted you a great deal when you led me back to town."

"A-And it should've been enough to make you stay there."

The knight sighed. "If let you see it for yourself, would you trust me, and give me the assistance I need?" He gestured with his eyes until her eyes were drawn to his frozen arm, reaching into his cloak. "I  _do_ hope you'd help me. You're perfect for it."

"You hardly know me, sir. You don't even know my name, nor I, yours." She smiled, despite herself. "What was I supposed to see?"

"You can call me Karma." His sunshine eyes were sparkling with mischief when she drew off his cloak. "And I'm smelling acceptance, milady~"

"It's actually consideration. Please call me Manami."

She spotted the object he'd been trying to pull out, her brows rising with incredulity. An invitation, from the looks of it, and it was dusted a light pink in color, shimmering in the light. The witch looked back up at him in confusion.

"See, I was compulsorily invited to attend the dratted king's birthday party tonight, and it requires a date that the likes of the kingdom has never seen before." He scoffed. "Probably to whisk them away and keep them to himself!"

"Um…" Date? Birthday party? The king? Something was terribly wrong in the order of things. Manami wasn't sure if this knight was mocking her or trying to amuse her. And she didn't  _do_  parties and ballgowns; she was witch for crying out loud, and there was a reason that beings like her were banished to live in the woods.

"You're  _mine_ of course, I won't let that frilly put his hands on you."

"…I'm yours?"

"Anyway," he grinned. He changed the subject. "He wouldn't be able to if he isn't able to, yes?"

"I-I'm not sure what you mean."

"Milady, you see, the idiot put up a  _bounty of himself_ after a lot of failed assassinations."  _Karma_  smirked. Frozen as he was, he managed to make it look intimidating. Her heart was pounding.  _Excitement? Delight? Something else?_  "The whole  _kingdom_  is the  _reward_  if  _anyone_  in the kingdom could kill him—the best opportunity is tonight, with the bustle of the party, but only those with invitations could go. Guess who got one."

She understood his intentions, but his objectives when it concerned her still eluded her.

"I don't really care for the kingdom… I'm quite content with the way I live."

"I know!" He laughed. "Who says I cared about the kingdom itself? I'm going for the sake of being able to kill the unkillable bastard! And  _you_ , milady,  _you_ are perfect as  _my_  date.  _You_ can help me  _kill_ the  _king!_ I'll be fun! And it's amazing how you've paralyzed me right now! Imagine what I can do if I have this potion of yours to use! If I have you with me, that idiot would not stand a  _chance_."

The witch laughed. Now she understood. "So, sir knight, you need an accomplice to kill the king?"

He winked at her. "Indeed, my fair witch. With you by my side, the kingdom won't know what hit them."

"How unfortunate for the kingdom," Manami giggled. She liked this fellow. It's been awhile since she ventured out of the forest anyway. "To hail a king like you when you succeed."

Karma chuckled. "And you shall be my terrible queen."

.

"Ah, but before we move on to the grand scale of things, perhaps you can… unfreeze me?"

"I-I'm sorry!"

 


	3. what's in a name?

**_Karmanami Week, Day 3: Code Name_ **

* * *

It was dusty, it was stale, and it was  _dusty_  in here.

Akabane Mitsuru could hardly see in the dimly-lit basement with the stacks of boxes and things they've crammed inside. How come their parents had so much clutter to keep? He adjusted his glasses irritably, eyes watery with dust.

"Katsu…" His companion hummed in response. Mitsuru didn't know where his brother was, but he was close enough. "I cleaned up the glass pieces, so why do I have to help you here too?"

Three towering boxes away, Akabane Katsumi simply searched into another container, saying, "You heard what dad said."

It was both their fault, and it was their responsibility and obligation to explain what happened to their mother later at supper. With a timely quip from their  _devil_  of a father saying they should be ready for their first punishments, and Katsumi almost cried. He was their mother's boy, but Mitsuru idolized their father.

_You look so much like Karma, Mitsu-kun! I hear you also like pranking people; little Karma much?_

"Why does mom keep her spares in the basement?" Mitsuru nudged a cluttering box aside, carefully, because it sounded like it was fragile inside. He wasn't about to break anything himself this time. "The lab has like, ten cupboards."

Katsumi groaned somewhere to the left stack of boxes, "Will you  _please_  just keep looking?"

"I  _am_. So mind your own business, Katsu."

"And you should be careful,  _clumsy_."

"Am not!" Mitsuru pushed aside mops and boxes in his bid to reach Katsumi, who was already waiting for him with a scowl. He was quick to latch onto Katsumi, and Katsumi likewise started struggling. In the cramped space of boxes and old belongings, Akabane Mitsuru and Katsumi started wrestling.

"Are  _too_!"

"Chemical geek!"

"Good for nothing!"

" _Don't_  touch my glasses!"

"Hands  _off_ , clumsy!"

In their scuffling, they were unmindful of their surroundings, and things got kicked, punched, shoved aside. A box toppled off of an old couch as Katsumi shoved Mitsuru against the back of it. However, as he did, Mitsuru growled as he pulled Katsumi with him, and they tumbled over and around the back of it, crashing against the fallen box.

"Ow!" Mitsuru hissed, stroking his elbow. "That wasn't cool!"

He glared up his brother, glasses skewed, and though Katsumi was as ruffled as he was, he wasn't paying attention to him anymore. Mitsuru scowled when Katsumi pushed him aside, only to blink when he started picking up the contents of the box.

"What are you doing? Fight me!"

Katsumi pointedly ignored him.

"Katsumi!"

The oldest of the two groaned as he tugged on Mitsuru to join him. "Shut up, Mitsu!  _Look_!"

"What  _are_  those?"

"Pictures, see?" Mitsuru was next to him in a flash, snatching them from Katsumi's hands. Katsumi simply dug through another pile. "It's mom and dad's pictures!"

Mitsuru grinned as he inspected the faces. Two, nine… seventeen… twenty-three faces that were familiar to them smiled back, frozen in time. "Whoa… I see auntie Akari! And uncle Nagisa! But…"

"…Younger?" Katsumi finished, looking back at him. Fight forgotten, they sifted through the fallen pictures, photo books and memories with zealous excitement. They've just discovered something new! "Look, look! It's mom!"

Mitsuru gasped, "Mom's cute in those braids! She should wear them again!"

Katsumi laughed. "Careful, Mitsu. Dad might go  _crazy_  for her."

"I think he already is—huh!" He held up a photo of Karma with two other unfamiliar faces, smile wide and scheming. "Dad's with delinquents! D'you think he used to be one?"

" _Or_ , you know… they're not actually delinquents. Stop being judgmental, Mitsu."

"I'm not—"

It was Katsumi's turn to gasp as he found another picture. A bright yellow octopus  _something_  grinned widely at the camera, along with the younger versions of their parents and others that were their classmates. It wasn't a formal class picture, as their father was the one holding the phone. This one picture larger than the rest, roughly twelve by twelve, and at the back of it were words signed and scribbled that both Katsumi and Mitsuru failed to understand.

"'Class 3-E's Name Time'…? Grandmaster Kanzaki? L- _Loofah_? Wow, these nicknames sound so weird… " And there was Home Base, Gender… Poison Glasses?  _Moe_ Box? And just what exactly does  _The Imperial Prince Of The Fate Of The Eternal Wind_ mean?

"It sounds like a video-game rip-off," Mitsuru hummed, mouth twitching. "But I like this Chuunihan thing."

Somewhere, in a place where everything was right and nothing hurt, a certain Mach 20 creature is feeling insulted.

"You're better off with Glasses Explosives." Katsumi huffed.

"Hey! Who said you can say what I can like and what I can't?"

Katsumi shrugged, "I wouldn't know. The last time I let you do what you want, we ended up breaking mom's stuff."

"W-Whatever," Mitsuru, flushing, snatched the picture for himself. A smug smirk curved his expression at Katsumi's irritated glower that said,  _give that back!_ "I  _like_  Chuunihan, and I'll  _be_  Chuunihan, and you can't say or do anything about it!"

"I take it back. Glasses Explosives is cooler, so maybe Poison Glasses suits you better?" Katsumi scoffed, advancing closer to him. "It suits a poisonous brat like you perfectly."

"Are you mocking me?" Mitsuru faked a gasp, grinning, ready to bolt with each step that brought them closer to another wrestling match. "Hey, now, with the way Katsu said it… you're also mocking  _mom_! Remember, remember! She's also wearing glasses! Ooh~ Bad Katsu, I'm going to tell dad!"

Katsumi growled, "That's different! I'm talking to you! A-And I wasn't mocking!"

"Excuses, excuses!"

"What _ever_ , if you're so full of it, I'll be Rolling Riser! Sounds cooler than Chuunihan anyway."

Mitsuru whipped up the picture and scanned the scattered words yet again. He laughed. "Nope. No go. Stern Lecture sounds more like  _you_. You're way worse than mom and dad combined!"

"Maybe it's because I'm responsible and Mitsu is a troublemaker."

"Katsu's a troublemaker too. You let me try mixing the chemicals even though I suck at it~"

"Trial and error is important."

"Wow, and look where it got us, Katsu." Simultaneously, they sighed. No matter how much they fought, they were still going to be in trouble with their mother. Their first punishment in fourteen (and twelve) years, and their mother was the one to give it. She rarely ever got angry, so both Katsumi and Mitsuru were unaware of how bad their punishments would be.

Mitsuru snickered. "Ah. Forget these nicknames. These aren't ours anyway, and I figured out who I want to be~"

"Yeah?"

"Everyone's going around saying I look and act like dad… maybe that part's true, but  _I'm_ still my  _own_  person. I don't want to keep being compared to dad~"

Katsumi nodded along. "Both of us, actually. But they say I act more like mom…" The two of them stared at each other, looking into reflections. One had a pair of correction glasses, and the other sat with his shoulders hunched—a bad habit yet unbroken. At the moment, they were nothing more than legacies with nothing to prove yet. "Forget it. I don't want a nickname anymore."

_Even though you and the other brat look so alike, you take on after Manami-san more, huh, Katsumi?_

"Me too." Mitsuru glanced back down at the picture, wondering, idly, among the names in the back, what their parents' code names were.  _Poison Glasses_ was a bit more obvious, though, and for the sake of peace, Mitsuru decided against telling Katsumi this. "This was cool though."

Katsumi grinned. " _Definitely_  cool. What do you think that  _thing_  is, though…?" They still haven't figured out what that yellow  _thing_  was, tentacles and academic robes and all.

"School mascot?" Mitsuru shrugged.

_"Katsumi! Mitsuru!"_  They jolted at the sound of their father's voice, scrambling to shove all the pictures they scattered the small space the basement allowed back inside the box where they found it, panicked and harried.  _"Your mom's home! Come up for dinner!"_

"On our way!" Katsumi replied, towing Mitsuru with him. He shoved the box of spare test tubes into Mitsuru's hands When and where did he get them? " _Don't_  drop them."

Mitsuru faked a sob as he sang, "Hurray, punishment's on the way~"


	4. the spaces between my fingers and yours

_**Karmanami Week, Day 4: Hands** _

* * *

When Manami's breathing steadies, they start again, and she allows him to lead her. It's easy from thereon out; one, two, three, twirl. One, two, three, twirl.  _Eyes on me, Okuda-san_ , he'd said.  _No need to be uncomfortable around me._ It's good that she's not watching their feet anymore, or minding the problem that they're a little disproportioned on this one; he's a little too tall and she's a little too short, and dancing required well-proportioned partners.

There's a reason why Korosensei partnered them according to height, but Karma does not care.

He knows a few of their classmates are watching, too. He knows when she risked a look away from him when she begins to stiffen, and so to save their progress Karma twists himself away from her, then pulls her in gently from the ends of her fingers. She's conscious and shy though she doesn't look away from him.  _It's not Karma-kun… It's being around everyone else._

Manami's hands are familiar and welcome.

He knows these hands better than he knew their classmates' individual weaknesses. He thinks of late afternoons spent in the laboratory, acquainting himself with the spaces between her fingers and the lines of her palms but not brave enough to weave them around his own each time they spread their hands together.

Because in the laboratory, Manami belonged to her creations, all of her, and so, in the laboratory, Karma can admire, can touch, but not claim.

The light in her eyes is humbling;  _she trusts me_ , he thinks,  _a whole lot_. So he gives back, smiling encouragingly, leading her gently. He corrects where they've gone wrong before, and she delivers beautifully. The routine is not complicated, and she's not the only one struggling among twelve pairs, but she's the only one he wants to help and do it with.

If Karma had it his way, she could step on his feet and he'd lead her forever.

They go through the whole routine twice, correcting each misstep, and it was  _beautiful_ to see her chin held high with a smile, cheeks flushed, and it's become a little harder to keep the longing at bay.

"Akabane," is the first discord he hears when they finish dancing to the notes in his head, but Karma had eyes for no one else.  _I put that smile on her face._

Behind her, Itona blinks, his hand open for Manami's.

"May I have Okuda-chan back?"

A small, yet emasculating wave of ire made Karma realize why he's done all this in the first place— _petulance_ , that, and he didn't like the sound of  _May I have Okuda-_ chan  _back_ at all. And yet…

Karma smiled his signature sharp grin. "Of course, Itona-kun~ please take care of Okuda-san."

He gives her Manami's hand. Both he and Itona notice how his fingers linger when her hand lifts away from his palm and into Itona's, and Karma still does not care.

"S-Sorry for the trouble earlier, Itona-kun!" Manami says. She squeezes Itona's hand, and Karma tries not to think of the lingering warmth that remained in his from holding her. "But I think our practice will be s-smooth this time, thanks to Karma-kun!"

"I haven't even stepped on her during our practices though," Itona replies. Then he adds, for Manami, "And we were doing fine."

"And do you know how awkward it was to practice with a shorter guy? And to top it off, he had to lead  _me."_  Rio grumbles, coming up next to Itona. Her elbow leaned on his shoulder, and Itona glanced at her uncomfortably. "How  _cold_  of you to ditch your dance partner for another, Karma~"

Manami giggles as Rio latches onto Karma, and he eyed the knowing smirk on Rio's face with disdain. He looks back at Itona, and notices, with no small amount of frustration, the fond look in his eye as he looks down at Manami.

 _"Everyone!"_ Korosensei screeches. He's finally noticed that everyone was pairing off with a different person from what he's created. "Please return to your respective partners immediately!"

So dance class resumes, and Rio's hand is still unfamiliar and foreign in his palm.


End file.
